University Hospital introduced North America’s first Hitachi intraoperative MRI/operating room suite. The suite features two adjacent operating rooms, one containing the Hitachi AIRIS II MRI. This combination of state-of-the-art equipment and surgical facilities provides the most advanced treatment options in a setting designed for maximum efficiency.

In addition, our neurosurgeons have worked with other experts to develop computer-assisted surgery systems that allow safer navigation in and around the brain. These image-guided systems allow very precise planning of the surgery by pinpointing the location of the tumor and allowing precise skin and bone openings. This leads to shorter operating time, improved surgical visibility, and shorter length of stay. The use of image-guided surgery has become standard procedure at hospitals that specialize in brain tumor surgery.

The UC Brain Tumor Center has shown the benefits of intraoperative MRI technology in clinical studies. These studies demonstrated that in patients with gliomas and pituitary tumors, conventional surgery using computer guidance frequently did not achieve adequate tumor removal. When intraoperative MRI showed the need for additional tumor removal, surgeons were able to remove the additional tissue immediately.